Georgia Southern University Digital Commons@Georgia Southern Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies, Jack N Averitt College of Fall 2011 Memoir of a Black Female Social Worker: Re-Collections on Black Women Parenting and Parental Involvement in the Education of Black Children Jacquelyn Hodges Anthony Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Anthony, Jacquelyn Hodges, "Memoir of a Black Female Social Worker: Re-Collections on Black Women Parenting and Parental Involvement in the Education of Black Children" (2011) Electronic Theses and Dissertations 558 https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/558 This dissertation (open access) is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies, Jack N Averitt College of at Digital Commons@Georgia Southern It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Georgia Southern For more information, please contact digitalcommons@georgiasouthern.edu MEMOIR OF A BLACK FEMALE SOCIAL WORKER: RE-COLLECTIONS ON BLACK WOMEN PARENTING AND PARENTAL INVOVLEMENT IN THE EDUCATION OF BLACK CHILDREN by JACQUELYN HODGES ANTHONY (Under the Direction of Ming Fang He) ABSTRACT This study explores Black parental involvement by re-collecting my lived experiences as parent and social worker through memoir Although the main characters in my stories are based on my family members and the parents and children I have assisted in various schools, I have fictionalized events, periods, and identities to protect myself and the people in my stories from the voyeuristic spectator Fictionalizing also provides access within the intricacies of a lived experience and allows me to highlight ways of knowing that may expand epistemological standpoints regarding Black parental involvement Re-collecting allowed me to reflect upon my two selves as parent and social worker and reminded me of a generational othermothering that traversed Afrocentric traditions and found a new home among the decedents of African slaves in the United States (James, 1993; Collins, 1994; Walker & Snarey, 2004) Steeped within a rich tradition of parenting, othermothering counters conventional narrative that suppresses Black parents‟ involvement in their child‟s life Exploring parent involvement through my personal and professional narratives provided an opportunity to for me to unearth those suppressed and silent hegemonic ideals to understand who I am in Black children‟s lives and how I affect their success in school There is a plethora of research that explores Black parental involvement as a means for increasing their children‟s achievement; however, few texts unpack the intersectionality of Black parents‟ multiple social identities to examine the ways they are already involved in their children‟s schooling By exploring the gaps in research, this study problematizes Black parental involvement as a means for interrogating the process of teaching and learning in American schools Drawing upon the work of Critical Race Theory (e.g Bell, 1995; Delgado & Stefancic, 2001; Ladson-Billings, 1999; Watkins, 2001; Parker & Lynn, 2002), I explore parenting from a Black Feminist Thought standpoint (e.g Collins, 1994; Collins, 2000; hooks, 2000; Lorde, 1984/2007) to provide a revisionist interpretation of a communal mothering that nurtures the growth and development of a child‟s physical, emotional and mental interconnected selves (e.g Case, 1997; Glenn, 1993; Henry, 2006; James, 1993; Lightfoot, 1978; Walker & Snarey, 2004) I draw upon the works of memoir and fiction as my methodology to complicate narratives in the home, school, and community (e.g Harris, 2005; Braxton, 1989) The benefit of using this approach is that it creates a space for imaginative activity in capturing a truth, a reality, a lived experience (Morrison, 2008) The use of memoir also freed me to write about experience thematically as opposed to chronologically I was therefore able to present Black parents‟ lived experiences with their children‟s schooling as a school social worker or as a parent throughout this study to expose a truth silent within research It is my hope that this study sparks an imaginative activity that reveals to policy makers, educational researchers and practitioners that there is a need for Black orientations to parental involvement in schools to redress universalization, hegemonization, and silencing of Black parents‟ engagement in their children‟s schooling; to recognize all that is suppressed and silent to gain insight of who they are and how they became who they are in the lives of Black children; to dismantle those individual, structural, and political agendas and practices that are pervasive and negatively affect Black children‟s success in schools and life; and to recognize how Black parents‟ varying identities inference their perceptions and interactions with their children‟s schools This imaginative activity helps to construct a dialogical relationship between the home, school and community that honors multiple ways of knowing about Black communal parental involvement that inspires all Black children to reach their highest potential (Walker, 1996) A dialogical relationship would minimize barriers to Black parental involvement created by school personnel‟s hegemonic status and bureaucratic social structures It would also foster knowledge about school functions, curricular and educational standards that Black parents seek in accessing expertise that will further their children‟s success in schools INDEX WORDS: Parent Involvement, Othermothering, Universalization, Critical Race Theory, Black Feminist Thought, Intersectionality, Hegemony, Autobiography, Memoir MEMOIR OF A BLACK FEMALE SOCIAL WORKER: RE-COLLECTIONS ON BLACK WOMEN PARENTING AND PARENTAL INVOVLEMENT IN THE EDUCATION OF BLACK CHILDREN by JACQUELYN HODGES ANTHONY B.S., Georgia State University, 1989 M.S.W., Clark Atlanta University, 1992 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree DOCTOR OF EDUCATION STATESBORO, GEORGIA 2011 © 2011 JACQUELYN HODGES ANTHONY All Rights Reserved MEMOIR OF A BLACK FEMALE SOCIAL WORKER: RE-COLLECTIONS ON BLACK WOMEN PARENTING AND PARENTAL INVOVLEMENT IN THE EDUCATION OF BLACK CHILDREN by JACQUELYN HODGES ANTHONY Major Professor: Ming Fang He Committee: John Weaver Daniel Chapman William Schubert Sonia Carlyle Electronic Version Approved: December 2011 DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to the one who provided me with the creative spark and to those precious to me who gave me the inspiration to move on that spark This dissertation is the result of God‟s creative spark within me In my quest to bring something new and imaginative to research, I found a writing that I didn‟t think I was capable of To my children Xavier, Jacqueline, and Jasmine- thanks for putting up with me; you were right there with me experiencing my fall into the rabbit hole and my subsequent rebirth as I emerged from this disruptive experience a better scholar To my grandmother Florence Henryyour wisdom and love has been a generational blessing, and even though you are no longer with us, I still benefit from all that you have given To my parents Clifford and Pauline Hodges- you always made me feel I could anything and for that I will be eternally grateful Thanks for continuously asking me, “When are you going to be finished with that paper? You about ready to graduate yet?” In your minds, it was never a question of how is she going to this…but when To my sister Evelyn Hodges- thanks for keeping me among the living Your tenacity in keeping me socially active has provided balance in my life To all of you- you have been the inspiration behind the narrative shared in this study I know that the inspiration you provided me will become a transformative work ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you, bless you, I appreciate you; these words not begin to express the depth of my gratitude for the people who have contributed to the fruition of this work Dr Ming Fang He, I thank you for agreeing to become my major professor You have othermothered me into God‟s creative spark and helped me to conceive of a work that I initially thought was inconceivable in qualitative research You provided an equilibrium that allowed me to see this work to its completion You were patient as I slowly processed the relationship between theory and practice and demanding when there was a hint of me being idle You were available for consultation when I was unsure of my writing while conversely affording me the autonomy to develop my work Your knowledge and contributions to the field of Curriculum Studies and Narrative Inquiry helped to nurture my writing of life stories I am better because of your commitment to exposing your students to the complexity and diversity of research, theory, and practice within Curriculum Studies I also want to thank my committee members Dr Sonia Carlyle, Dr Daniel Chapman, Dr William Schubert, and Dr John Weaver for your constructive critiques and recommendations regarding my work I am thankful for the opportunity to dialogue with you about the intricacies of Black parental involvement Your knowledge and insight have been extremely valuable to the development of my writing Each of you brings to curriculum scholarship an expertise that has expanded my thinking and enriched my life For the years of attention you have devoted to the pursuit of knowledge and advocacy for social change, I will be eternally grateful Thanks to Gerri Williams, Kashera Robinson, Melvin Ratcliff, and Kim Davison for our lifetime membership in the A.B.C crew For the countless hours we have spent bending each other‟s ear and for the years of laughter, camaraderie, and shared truths I will always be grateful Melvin, I am especially grateful to you for calling me and waking me up at 2:00 and 3:00 in the morning to ensure that I was putting some time into the writing; your opinions and feedback have been invaluable Gerri, there are not enough words to express how appreciative I am of your othermothering of my children To the offspring of Sam and Florence Henry, thank you for paving the way for all of us I have learned much from the examples you have set Patricia Hill Collins, bell hooks, Toni Morrison, and Alice Walker, thank you for contributing to the works of countless Black female writers Your dedication to the craft has created space for fledgling writers like me It is because of you that I had the courage to share my thoughts, dreams, and experiences on paper I can only hope that one day this work will make a difference in someone‟s life the way your works have made a difference in mine Bullough, R., & Pinnegar, S (1991) Guidelines for quality in autobiographical forms of selfstudy research Educational Researcher, 30(3), 13-21 Case, K I (1997) African American othermothering in the urban elementary school The Urban Review, 29(1), 25-39 Collins, P H (1994) Shifting the center: Race, class, and feminist theorizing about motherhood In E N Glenn, G Chang, & L R Forcey (Eds.), Mothering: Ideology, experience, and agency (pp 45-65) New York: Routledge Collins, P H (1998) Fighting words: Black women and the search for justice Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press Collins, P H (2000) Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment New York: Routledge Collins, P H (2009) Another kind of public education: Race, schools, the media, and democratic possibilities Boston: Beacon Cooper, A J (1892/1988) A voice from the South New York: Oxford University Press Cooper, F R (2006) Against bipolar black masculinity: Intersectionality, assimilation, identity performance, and hierarchy U.C Davis Law Review, 39 (3), 853-906 Crenshaw, K., Gotanda, N., Peller, G., & Kendall, T (1995) (Eds.) 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Race is…race isn‟t: Critical race theory and qualitative studies in education Boulder, CO: Westview Parker, L., & Lynn, M (2002) What‟s race got to with it?: Critical race theory‟s conflicts with connections to qualitative research methodology and epistemology Qualitative 183 Inquiry, 8(1), 7-22 Pinar, W F., Reynolds, W M., Slattery, P., & Tauban, P M (2008) Understanding curriculum: An introduction to the study of historical and contemporary curriculum discourses New York: Peter Lang Plessy v Ferguson, 163 U.S 537 (1896) Retrieved January 10, 2011from http://laws.lp.findlaw.com/getcase/us/163/537.html Purpel, D (1999) Moral outrage in education New York: Peter Lang Ransby, B (2003) Ella Baker and the Black freedom movement: A radical democratic vision Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press Rose, M (2009) Why school?: Reclaiming education for all of us New York: The New Press Schubert, W H (1986) Curriculum: Perspective, paradigm, and possibility New York: Macmillan SEC 1118 (d) of NCLB- Parental Involvement Retrieved April 1, 2009 from http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg2.html#sec1118 Slaughter, D & Kuehne, V (1989) Improving black education: Perspectives on parent involvement In W Smith, & E Chunn, (Eds.), Black education: A quest for equity and excellence New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Smith, W, & Chunn, E (1989) Black education: A quest for equity and excellence New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Stovall, D (2005) Critical race theory as educational protest In W H Watkins (Ed.), Black protest thought and education (pp 197-211) New York: Peter Lang Takaki, R (1993) A different mirror: A history of multicultural America New York: Little, Brown and Company 184 Tate, W (1997) Critical race theory and education: History, theory, and implications Review of Research in Education, 22, 195-247 Taylor, E (1999) Critical race theory and interest convergence in the desegregation of higher education In L Parker, D Deyhle, & S Villenas (Eds.), Race is…race isn‟t: Critical race theory and qualitative studies in education (pp.181-204) Boulder, CO: Westview Terrell, M (1940/2005) A colored woman in a white world Amherst, NY: Humanity Books Theodorou, E (2007) Reading between the lines: Exploring the assumptions and implications of parental involvement International Journal About Parents in Education, 1(0), 90-96 Thompson, A (1996) Political Pragmatism and Educational Inquiry Retrieved April 25, 2008, from http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/eps/PES-Yearbook/96_docs/thompson.html Thompson, A (2004) Caring and colortalk: Childhood Innocence in White and Black In V Walker and J Snarey (Eds.), Race-ing moral formation: African American perspectives on care and justice (pp 23-37) New York: Teachers College Press Thompson, G (2003) What African American parents want educators to know Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education Thompson, G (2010) The power of one: How you can help or harm African American students Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin U.S Department of Education (2008) Digest of Education Statistics, 2000, Table 3: Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics U.S Department of Education (2010) Digest of Education Statistics, 2000, Tables 113, 125, 142: Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics Walker, A (1967/1983) In search of our mothers‟ gardens Orlando, FL: Harcourt 185 Walker, V S (1996) Their highest potential: An African American school community in the segregated South Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press Walker, V S., & Snarey, J (Eds.) (2004) Race-ing moral formation: African American perspectives on care and justice New York: Teachers College Press Watkins, A (2009) Sisters of hope, looking back, stepping forward: The educational experiences of African-American women New York: Peter Lang Watkins, W (2001) The white architects of Black education: Ideology and power in America, 1865-1954 New York: Teachers College Press Weber, M (1958/2003) The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism Mineola, NY: Dover Wells, I (1970) Crusade for justice: The autobiography of Ida B Wells Chicago: The University of Chicago Press Winquist, N.C (1998) Factors associated with fathers‟ and mothers‟ involvement in their children‟s education NCES, Issue Brief, pp 1, Retrieved February 2, 2009, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs98/web/98122.asp Woodson, C G (1933/2009) The mis-education of the Negro Lexington, KY: Feather Trail Press Zellman, G L., & Waterman, J M (1998) Understanding the impact of parent school involvement on children's educational outcomes Journal of Educational Research, 91, 370-80 186 APPENDIX NCLB-TITLE I ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY EDUCATION Part A — Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies SEC 1111 | SEC 1112 | SEC 1113 | SEC 1114 | SEC 1115 | SEC 1116 SEC 1117 | SEC 1118 | SEC 1119 | SEC 1120 | SEC 1120A Subpart — Basic Program Requirements SEC 1118 PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT (a) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY POLICY(1) IN GENERAL- A local educational agency may receive funds under this part only if such agency implements programs, activities, and procedures for the involvement of parents in programs assisted under this part consistent with this section Such programs, activities, and procedures shall be planned and implemented with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children (2) WRITTEN POLICY- Each local educational agency that receives funds under this part shall develop jointly with, agree on with, and distribute to, parents of participating children a written parent involvement policy The policy shall be incorporated into the local educational agency's plan developed under section 1112, establish the agency's expectations for parent involvement, and describe how the agency will — (A) involve parents in the joint development of the plan under section 1112, and the process of school review and improvement under section 1116; (B) provide the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist participating schools in planning and implementing effective parent involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance; (C) build the schools' and parents' capacity for strong parental involvement as described in subsection (e); 187 (D) coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies under this part with parental involvement strategies under other programs, such as the Head Start program, Reading First program, Early Reading First program, Even Start program, Parents as Teachers program, and Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters, and State-run preschool programs; (E) conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parental involvement policy in improving the academic quality of the schools served under this part, including identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in activities authorized by this section (with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background), and use the findings of such evaluation to design strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary, the parental involvement policies described in this section; and (F) involve parents in the activities of the schools served under this part (3) RESERVATION(A) IN GENERAL- Each local educational agency shall reserve not less than percent of such agency's allocation under subpart of this part to carry out this section, including promoting family literacy and parenting skills, except that this paragraph shall not apply if percent of such agency's allocation under subpart of this part for the fiscal year for which the determination is made is $5,000 or less (B) PARENTAL INPUT- Parents of children receiving services under this part shall be involved in the decisions regarding how funds reserved under subparagraph (A) are allotted for parental involvement activities (C) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS- Not less than 95 percent of the funds reserved under subparagraph (A) shall be distributed to schools served under this part (b) SCHOOL PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY(1) IN GENERAL- Each school served under this part shall jointly develop with, and distribute to, parents of participating children a written parental involvement policy, agreed on by such parents, that shall describe the means for carrying out the requirements of subsections (c) through (f) Parents shall be notified of the policy in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, provided in a language the parents can understand Such policy shall be made available to the local community and updated periodically to meet the changing needs of parents and the school 188 (2) SPECIAL RULE- If the school has a parental involvement policy that applies to all parents, such school may amend that policy, if necessary, to meet the requirements of this subsection (3) AMENDMENT- If the local educational agency involved has a school district-level parental involvement policy that applies to all parents, such agency may amend that policy, if necessary, to meet the requirements of this subsection (4) PARENTAL COMMENTS- If the plan under section 1112 is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, the local educational agency shall submit any parent comments with such plan when such local educational agency submits the plan to the State (c) POLICY INVOLVEMENT- Each school served under this part shall — (1) convene an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to which all parents of participating children shall be invited and encouraged to attend, to inform parents of their school's participation under this part and to explain the requirements of this part, and the right of the parents to be involved; (2) offer a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide, with funds provided under this part, transportation, child care, or home visits, as such services relate to parental involvement; (3) involve parents, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of programs under this part, including the planning, review, and improvement of the school parental involvement policy and the joint development of the schoolwide program plan under section 1114(b)(2), except that if a school has in place a process for involving parents in the joint planning and design of the school's programs, the school may use that process, if such process includes an adequate representation of parents of participating children; (4) provide parents of participating children — (A) timely information about programs under this part; (B) a description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet; and (C) if requested by parents, opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children, and respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible; and (5) if the schoolwide program plan under section 1114(b)(2) is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, submit any parent comments on the plan when the school makes the plan available to the local educational agency 189 (d) SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES FOR HIGH STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT- As a component of the school-level parental involvement policy developed under subsection (b), each school served under this part shall jointly develop with parents for all children served under this part a school-parent compact that outlines how parents, the entire school staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership to help children achieve the State's high standards Such compact shall — (1) describe the school's responsibility to provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables the children served under this part to meet the State's student academic achievement standards, and the ways in which each parent will be responsible for supporting their children's learning, such as monitoring attendance, homework completion, and television watching; volunteering in their child's classroom; and participating, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children and positive use of extracurricular time; and (2) address the importance of communication between teachers and parents on an ongoing basis through, at a minimum — (A) parent-teacher conferences in elementary schools, at least annually, during which the compact shall be discussed as the compact relates to the individual child's achievement; (B) frequent reports to parents on their children's progress; and (C) reasonable access to staff, opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child's class, and observation of classroom activities (e) BUILDING CAPACITY FOR INVOLVEMENT- To ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school involved, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement, each school and local educational agency assisted under this part — (1) shall provide assistance to parents of children served by the school or local educational agency, as appropriate, in understanding such topics as the State's academic content standards and State student academic achievement standards, State and local academic assessments, the requirements of this part, and how to monitor a child's progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children; (2) shall provide materials and training to help parents to work with their children to improve their children's achievement, such as literacy training and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parental involvement; (3) shall educate teachers, pupil services personnel, principals, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and the school; 190 (4) shall, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs and activities with Head Start, Reading First, Early Reading First, Even Start, the Home Instruction Programs for Preschool Youngsters, the Parents as Teachers Program, and public preschool and other programs, and conduct other activities, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children; (5) shall ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to the parents of participating children in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand; (6) may involve parents in the development of training for teachers, principals, and other educators to improve the effectiveness of such training; (7) may provide necessary literacy training from funds received under this part if the local educational agency has exhausted all other reasonably available sources of funding for such training; (8) may pay reasonable and necessary expenses associated with local parental involvement activities, including transportation and child care costs, to enable parents to participate in school-related meetings and training sessions; (9) may train parents to enhance the involvement of other parents; (10) may arrange school meetings at a variety of times, or conduct in-home conferences between teachers or other educators, who work directly with participating children, with parents who are unable to attend such conferences at school, in order to maximize parental involvement and participation; (11) may adopt and implement model approaches to improving parental involvement; (12) may establish a districtwide parent advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to parental involvement in programs supported under this section; (13) may develop appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses in parent involvement activities; and (14) shall provide such other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under this section as parents may request (f) ACCESSIBILITY– In carrying out the parental involvement requirements of this part, local educational agencies and schools, to the extent practicable, shall provide full opportunities for the participation of parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities, and parents of migratory children, including providing information and school reports required under section 1111 in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language such parents understand 191 (g) INFORMATION FROM PARENTAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCE CENTERS- In a State where a parental information and resource center is established to provide training, information, and support to parents and individuals who work with local parents, local educational agencies, and schools receiving assistance under this part, each local educational agency or school that receives assistance under this part and is located in the State shall assist parents and parental organizations by informing such parents and organizations of the existence and purpose of such centers (h) REVIEW- The State educational agency shall review the local educational agency's parental involvement policies and practices to determine if the policies and practices meet the requirements of this section 192 .. .MEMOIR OF A BLACK FEMALE SOCIAL WORKER: RE-COLLECTIONS ON BLACK WOMEN PARENTING AND PARENTAL INVOVLEMENT IN THE EDUCATION OF BLACK CHILDREN by JACQUELYN HODGES ANTHONY (Under the Direction of. .. HODGES ANTHONY All Rights Reserved MEMOIR OF A BLACK FEMALE SOCIAL WORKER: RE-COLLECTIONS ON BLACK WOMEN PARENTING AND PARENTAL INVOVLEMENT IN THE EDUCATION OF BLACK CHILDREN by JACQUELYN HODGES ANTHONY... that, “whether based on racial balance precedents or compensatory education theories, remedies that fail to attack all policies of racial subordination almost guarantee that the basic evil of